Melody blinked furiously in the dark, but it didn’t stop the silent tears from falling and making wet tracks down her cheeks to pool on the pillow beneath her head.
Her mind still refused to believe the facts, no matter how many times she went over it in her head. She really had been kidnapped by Enrique’s men. She really was lying in Enrique’s bed, her body as stiff as a board beneath the heavy blanket. And most unbelievable of all, Enrique really was lying next to her, his arm and leg wrapped possessively around her body as he slept peacefully beside her.
He had come to bed sometime later the night before and had slid into bed next to her. She’d just laid there, completely frozen, unable to move. Melody had been terrified of what was to come, but instead of pawing at her or hitting her he’d just whispered that he needed a few hours of sleep before another deal, and within moment he had been snoring lightly beside her.
Melody hadn’t been asleep. She’d just been laying there, trying to figure out how she could get herself and her baby the hell out of this mess. And then Enrique’s big body had pressed against hers, and it was all she could do not to shudder in revulsion.
She hadn’t dared to move since. She hadn’t moved a muscle, terrified to wake him up. Terrified of what he would do to her if he did.
He hadn’t demanded sex from her yet, but she feared that if he woke up to find her in his bed like this, he would. And Enrique had never been very good at taking ‘no’ for an answer. The last time she’d tried to refuse him, she’d ended up with his name branded on her skin, and he’d taken her anyway. Right here. In this bed.
Melody blinked again, this time trying to banish the horrible memories, but in the dark they were the only thing she had.
So, instead of the bad ones, she forced herself to focus on the good. Most of those memories revolved around Christian and the joy and happiness and hope that he’d brought into her life, like some sort of miracle she still wasn’t sure that she deserved.
As the long hours passed, night deepened outside. And slowly, a change began to happen inside her.
It was so subtle at first that Melody didn’t even feel it happening. As memories flew through her mind, her body frozen and the monster from her nightmares trapping her beside him, Melody looked back over her life and it was like she could see it all stretched out before her, clear for the very first time.
Melody could see herself as a child. Just a little girl with knots in her long dark hair because no one ever bothered to brush them out. Her father, always a dark shadow of her childhood, and the emotional abuse he’d dealt her.
In her mind, time moved fast-forward until she was homeless and living on the streets, her self-image and confidence destroyed by years of abuse. Of being told over and over again that she would never be worthy of love, or a family.
Then she was at the halfway house, trying to get herself better, trying to fix what all the terrible years had tried to destroy. Then the counselor had told her that what had happened to her wasn’t her fault. That she’d been just a child at the time. That she could make things different now, have a different life. But she still hadn’t believed, not really.
But she’d learned other things. She had learned how to protect herself. To protect her emotions. To keep them walled off from what was happening to her. She’d become strong, and she’d become brittle.
Melody could see it now, spread out before her like a map. Every choice that she had ever made, every decision that had led her to exactly where she was right now.
It had been so easy for Enrique to fool her, because she had been so desperate. Desperate for love, desperate for connection. Most of all, she had been desperate to prove that she wasn’t weak, that she wasn’t unworthy. That she mattered.
Enrique had woven a web of lies and deceit, just like the spider he was. And she had let herself walk right into it without a clue, and all the while he had been slowly tightening that web around her. He had stifled her wings until she couldn’t remember how to fly any more.
Darkness had become her whole life. She had been so tangled up in his web that she couldn’t find her way out. She’d been trapped, full of despair and pain. Hopeless.
And then Melody had met Christian, and everything had changed.
She still remembered that first night. Being caught by the Devil’s Martyrs gang. Being so sure that she was about to die, and a part of her had longed for it. For an end to the pain and agony. An end to her helpless existence as Enrique’s pet.
And then Christian had saved her. He had stood up for her. The first person in her life that had ever shown her kindness or gentleness. The first person to care about her or put her above themselves.
It had all seemed like bad luck and coincidence then, but, looking back now, Melody knew the truth. It was fate.
Every terrible thing that had happened her, every terrible thing that she had lived through, it had all taught her one thing. That people weren’t always what they seemed. In fact, they rarely were.
Christian had seemed terrifying to her at first. He was big and tough, a biker who was part of a notorious biker gang. And he had ended up being the kindest hearted, honest, and compassionate person that she had ever met.
And if she hadn’t known to look beneath the surface, to ignore a person’s words and to look at their actions, then she never would have seen what an amazing man he truly was. She wouldn’t have fallen in love with him or let him into her life and her heart.
As the thoughts flew through her mind, Melody realized with a shock that the fear that had been her constant companion was gone. Wait, no. Not gone. It just didn’t matter to her anymore.
Because she knew that whatever happened from this moment on, she wouldn’t be terrified anymore. Because she knew that she loved Christian, and that he loved her just as fiercely.
Melody drew in a deep shuddering breath. She could face anything Enrique threw at her because of that. Love shielded her heart like a shining golden wall. A fortress that would protect her and give her strength no matter how bad it was about to get.
Melody wrapped that shining wall of love even tighter around herself as Enrique shifted beside her on the bed. But instead of reaching towards her, he leaned over the other side of the bed, reaching for his buzzing cell phone.
“Yes...? It’s all ready… Good… Get the car ready. I’ll see you soon. And, Simpson: don’t fuck this up.”
Enrique cast a glance over his shoulder at her, his eyes gleaming black in the dark.
“I want to be back here within the hour. I have… other matters to see to tonight.”
Melody remained still and silent as Enrique hurriedly got out of bed and dressed, preparing to leave on a drug run. Pretending to be asleep was out of the question. There was no way she was closing her eyes while he was in the same room with her.
Just before he left, Enrique leaned onto the bed, his face so close she thought he was going to try to kiss her, and then she felt the cold, hard barrel of the gun pressed to her temple.
“Don’t try and run, Melody. You’re mine. And I’m never letting you go again.”
She nodded slightly. Her mouth was nearly too dry to from the words, but she forced them out, knowing he wouldn’t leave until she did.
“I promise, Enrique.”
“Remember that more than one life depends on you keeping your word,” Enrique purred, dragging the gun down her body until it reached her belly, where her baby was growing.
It took every ounce of control she had left to not cry out. Not to scream and push him away. She knew from past experience that it would only set him off, and she had no hope of standing up against his rage. Not when he had a gun pointed at her child.
“I have a promise for you too.” His eyes were black, and lust shined in them. He’d always loved it when she was in distress. “When I get back, I’ll give you the homecoming you deserve, Angel.”
He pressed his face to hers, and Melody forced herself to remain still, waiting for him to leave and the door to shut behind him before giving in to the nausea that filled her, retching until her stomach couldn’t heave any more.
After the sickness passed, a strength flowed through Melody, catapulting her out of the bed. She tore through the room, looking for any means of escape.
The minutes ticked by with Enrique’s words repeating in her head, as she tore apart the dressers and closet. But the door was locked, and the only way out was the window. Followed by a two-story drop.
Desperation set in, and Melody bit back a sob. She had to get out of there. It was only a matter of time before Enrique came back, and she knew that whatever would happen next would destroy her.
Suddenly, the handle of the door jerked, first one way and the next. Melody froze, sure that it was Enrique come back to take what he had promised her he would.
She held her breath as a loud crack filled the air, and then the door creaked open.